Geographic Information for Wireless Networks
Techniques for geographic information for wireless networks are described. According to various embodiments, a connectivity module on a mobile device receives geographic position information for a mobile device from another functionality of the mobile device and independent of a query by the connectivity module for the information. The connectivity module retrieves the geographic position information locally on the device, and utilizes the geographic position information to cause various actions to be performed. For instance, the connectivity module utilizes the geographic position information to identify a wireless network at a particular geographic region, and to cause a wireless scan to be initiated to detect the wireless network.
1 . A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including:
receiving an indication at a connectivity manager that geographic position information corresponding to an identified location of the system is available;
based on receiving the indication, activating the connectivity manager from an inactive state and initiating operations by the connectivity manager to determine if the geographic position information corresponds to a location of a known wireless network;
based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network, activating a wireless radio from an inactive state and initiating operations using the wireless radio including:
scanning for the wireless network;
receiving authentication information from the connectivity manager; and
connecting to the wireless network based on the authentication information.
2 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the connectivity manager in the inactive state is configured to receive wake events.
3 . The system as described in claim 1 , the operations further comprising based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information does not correspond to the location of the known wireless network, returning the connectivity manager to the inactive state.
4 . The system as described in claim 1 , the operations further comprising based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information does not correspond to the location of the known wireless network, returning the connectivity manager to the inactive state without activating the wireless radio.
5 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network is performed without scanning for the wireless network by the connectivity manager.
6 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network is performed without scanning for the wireless network by the connectivity manager and independent of querying for the geographic position information by the connectivity manager.
7 . The system as described in claim 1 , the operations further comprising loading, by the connectivity manager and prior to activating the wireless radio, a network profile for the wireless network that includes the authentication information.
8 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the activating the wireless radio is further based on a determination by the connectivity manager that the known wireless network exceeds a threshold signal quality or signal strength at the identified location.
9 . The system as described in claim 1 , the operations further comprising scheduling, by the connectivity manager and prior to activating the wireless radio, a network scan configured to activate the wireless radio at a specified time.
10 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving an indication at a connectivity manager that geographic position information corresponding to an identified location of a computing device is available;
based on receiving the indication, activating the connectivity manager from an inactive state and initiating operations by the connectivity manager to determine if the geographic position information corresponds to a location of a known wireless network;
based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network, activating a wireless radio from an inactive state and initiating operations using the wireless radio including:
scanning for the wireless network;
receiving authentication information from the connectivity manager; and
connecting to the wireless network based on the authentication information.
11 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , further comprising based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information does not correspond to the location of the known wireless network, returning the connectivity manager to the inactive state.
12 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , further comprising based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information does not correspond to the location of the known wireless network, returning the connectivity manager to the inactive state without activating the wireless radio.
13 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , wherein the determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network is performed without scanning for the wireless network by the connectivity manager.
14 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , wherein the determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network is performed without scanning for the wireless network by the connectivity manager and independent of querying for the geographic position information by the connectivity manager.
15 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , further comprising loading, by the connectivity manager and prior to activating the wireless radio, a network profile for the wireless network that includes the authentication information.
16 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , wherein the activating the wireless radio is further based on a determination by the connectivity manager that the known wireless network exceeds a threshold signal quality or signal strength at the identified location.
17 . One or more computer-readable storage media storing a computer program comprising computer executable instructions, which when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
receiving an indication at a connectivity manager that geographic position information corresponding to an identified location of the computing device is available;
based on receiving the indication, activating the connectivity manager from an inactive state and initiating operations by the connectivity manager to determine if the geographic position information corresponds to a location of a known wireless network;
based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network, activating a wireless radio from an inactive state and initiating operations using the wireless radio including:
scanning for the wireless network;
receiving authentication information from the connectivity manager; and
connecting to the wireless network based on the authentication information.
18 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 17 , the operations further comprising based on determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information does not correspond to the location of the known wireless network, returning the connectivity manager to the inactive state without activating the wireless radio.
19 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 17 , wherein the determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network is performed without scanning for the wireless network by the connectivity manager.
20 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 17 , wherein the determining by the connectivity manager that the geographic position information corresponds to the location of the known wireless network is performed without scanning for the wireless network by the connectivity manager and independent of querying for the geographic position information by the connectivity manager.